The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) recently published a consumer alert report entitled “

Everybody is telling Twinkie jokes this week. Hostess Brands was limping its way through Bankruptcy Reorganization when its bakers heeded the call of their union and went on strike on November 9. As part of the reorganization effort Hostess had proposed wage and pension cuts.

The 8th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel has ruled that a Chapter 13 debtor may not create a special class of unsecured creditors for nonpriority, nondischargeable tax debts at the expense of other unsecured creditors.  In the case of Shawn & Lauren Copeland v. Richard V.

Here is a good article about credit scores.Adam Brown is a bankruptcy attorney for Dexter & Dexter, a debt relief agency helping people file for bankruptcy.

In an about face from former policy the U.S.

In a recent Opinion, Judge Opperman from the Eastern District of Michigan Bankruptcy Court held that a Chapter 13 debtor cannot exclude voluntary post-petition retirement contributions from disposable income.  This Opinion is significant for debtors, trustees, and creditors as it systematically changes the way the Eastern District of Michigan will treat post-petition voluntary retirement contributions in a Chapter 13. Read More ›

Reading the opinion just issued by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 8th Circuit in the case of Shaffer vs. Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation, I am wondering if we are now witnessing a greater willingness of the bankruptcy courts to discharge student loans. 

Guest Post by Ashley Bertoldo, student at Brigham Young University

Are Taxes Dischargeable Through Bankruptcy? Some taxes are dischargeable through bankruptcy, but some are not eligible for discharge due to the year the taxes are due and the timeliness of filing the taxes.  If income taxes are more than three years old, they usually can be discharged.  The three year time period is based on the due date of the taxes, which generally is April 15th unless the debtor has been granted an extension.  If the taxes would be due within three years of the filing of the bankruptcy, the taxes would not be eligible for discharge.  It is not based on the end of the tax

Can Debtors be Arrested for Not Paying Their Debts? Many debtors/clients inquire whether they can be arrested if they are unable to make payments on their debts.  Creditors sometimes threaten to come to their home and arrest them if they are unable to make their payments, even if they inform the creditor of their intent to file a bankruptcy.  Often, this threat is used to encourage payment and to frighten the debtor.  This information, however, is often incorrect and misstated.  Before a debtor can be arrested for a civil matter, such as a lawsuit for not paying a debt, there is a procedure